Even as a kid monster movies didn’t really frighten me. I just was never that impressed by Dracula or Frankenstein (let alone a Werewolf — a mere dog). The Creature from the Black Lagoon, the Blob, the Thing, giant insects, Harryhausen animations, even zombies… All such obvious effects.
Slasher movies weren’t that big when I was a kid. Jason, Freddie, Chucky, they all came along later. The first Saw wasn’t until 2004. And again, on some level, just special effects. That’s actually part of what’s cool about the gory movies.
But ghost stories? Ghost stories definitely get under my skin!
Today, of course, is Fireworks Day for USAnians. It’s an important summer day we celebrate with picnics, sunburn, maybe some swimming, maybe some baseball and — always — a lot of fireworks. I always wonder how many reflect on how those fireworks echo a war we fought to become who we are today.
Sixteen years ago, on this day in 1998, I got married. On a riverboat. With balloons and cake. And fireworks that seemed appropriate at the time. But the anticipated life-long path came to a dead-end by 2003, and that, as they say, was that. My experiment with marriage had an unexpected result, and the echoes of that result linger yet today.
Twenty-Two years ago, on this day in 1992, my uncle — my dad’s only brother — died. He was a really cool uncle, and we had a lot of fun in years past discussing quantum physics and theology. He was a theology professor at a local college, and he was very interested in the scientific world. He found out the answer to the great experiment we call life: what (if anything) comes next? He might have enjoyed this blog; I miss him still today.
Two-hundred-and-thirty-eight years ago, on this day in 1776, some famous guys ratified an important contract — the United States Declaration of Independence. Then they went to a picnic and maybe some swimming. That was the beginning of an experiment that, for better or worse, is still with us today.
Last night the Minnesota Twins played their 81st game of the 2014 season. That means they’ve now played exactly half of the 162 games that comprise a Major League season.
My mom would have been 90 today. She almost made it, but her path ended three months short of that goal. 
This might seem like another math post… but it’s not! It’s a geometry post! And geometry is fun, beautiful and easy. After all, it’s just circles and lines and angles. Well, mostly. Like anything, if you really want to get into it, then things can get complex (math pun; sorry). But considering it was invented thousands of years ago, can it really be that much harder than, say, the latest smart phone?
After three grueling math theory posts (which I’m sure you all read very carefully and are fully prepared for next week’s pop quiz), it’s Friday and time for some fun. Here is a trio of very old jokes about the afterlife. They’re so old they may have gone around the loop to being new again, at least for anyone under the age of mumble-mumble.
Logos con carne 